Less latex rubber, less petroleum rubber=less tire cost but looking good enough to charge higher prices for car owners who want to be cooler.
Making tires of low profile saves rubber. You make a bigger wheel and put a low profile tire on it and you use less rubber to get to the same relative size.
Yes you can make the tire still bigger and just as wasteful but I’m seeing 18" tires that aren’t as tall as the L78/15 tires I ran on in the past. Low profile tires can be just as wasteful if the sidewall gets damaged but maybe the tire maker is saving money on rubber.
It’s a matter of what you think looks good. Personally I think they look foolish, but that is you choice
Low profile tires tend to be high performance, unidirectional, and some people think they look good. They are supposed to increase the size of the contact patch, giving you more friction than you would have with a conventional steel rim and tire setup. Give me an old fashioned P185/65R14 at $60 each, and I’ll be happy not to face the sticker shock some people get when they buy their first set of low profile tires.
Even the trucking industry is going this way. Instead of two tires side-by-side, newer trucks, and sometimes trailers, come with “super singles.” They’re supposed to get better traction. I guess they’re turning 18-wheelers into 10-wheelers.
@252525, that driver should consider themselves very lucky the truck didn’t go rolling.
A couple of years back, I went into Radio Shack at the mall and while crossing the lot I noted a very nice looking Nissan Sentra that had been modded by one of the tuner crowd. Unlike most, this one was done very tastefully with no gigantic wing, no plethora of stickers, and no trash can exhaust tip. It was a slick looking car; from a distance.
As I passed the car I noted it had some 35 or 40 series tires on it and the edges of all 4 custom rims were absolutely beaten to pieces from potholes. I didn’t count but each wheel rim must have had a dozen or more gouges.
It could be that they were leaking air and the stiff sidewalls was the only thing keeping the car up.
And it’s not just the aftermarket alloys that have problems - several BMWs on long term tests have had rims bent, requiring $$$ replacements.
With all the cheap alloys out there, I’m surprised more pickups don’t have problems, it takes a good alloy to support the same load as a steel wheel.
@mikinnh
They sell a bunch of these rims to truck and SUV owners. I can’t imagine loading fire wood in the back…you took the wind out of my sails @252525 cause I couldn’t imagine anyone with an outfit like that heating with wood.
Our 4Runner has 65 aspect ratio tires and that seems too low profile to me…we are real old and schooled on 75 s.
As for sports cars and trucks, my bet is that the larger rims are so that the manufacturers can fit larger brakes on them. With the massive increase in the towing capacity rating on newer trucks, they need huge brakes to stop the massive trailers that they’re rated to tow.
On all others, it has to be just a “fashion trend”. I can’t think of anything more absurd than having low profile tires come from factory on an econ car, when one size up on the wheel means 150% price tag on the tires.
On the “Pimp My Ride” program, every car that’s jazzed up has super low profile tires. The ride must be punishing.
@Docknick - yep, seems a requirement for all those car modification shows. Anything Chip Foose touches has a set of his wheels, no matter how out of place they look (to me, at least).
One thing I like about ‘Wheeler Dealers’ is they almost always go for the stock, period correct wheels.
Hopefully, as time goes by, if these tires get to be Original, Standard Equipment, we who want a comfortable non bone jarring ride will still be able to get normal tires to use on our cars!
Hopefully, as time goes by, if these tires get to be Original, Standard Equipment, we who want a comfortable non bone jarring ride will still be able to get normal tires to use on our cars!
Hopefully, as time goes by, if these tires get to be Original, Standard Equipment, we who want a comfortable non bone jarring ride will still be able to get normal tires to use on our cars!
My wife’s Lexus ES-350 has low profile tires…and the ride is EXCELLENT. Very very smooth and very very comfortable. Vehicles that were designed to have low profile tires do NOT have a harsh ride.
Like the others, I assume you mean “low profile” tires, otherwise known as “low aspect ratio” tires. The “aspect ratio” is the ratio between the tire’s width at it’s fattest part and the height of the tire sidewall.
It’s about style. Period.
If the suspension is properly designed the ride can be as smooth as if it were designed with greater sidewall. And while they are more subject to damage from potholes, they don’t come off the rims. No worries there.
The super low profile aftermarket rims that some of the kids add are just plain IMHO ridiculous. Those do have problems with very easily being damaged. And a new trend toward putting wide rims on too-narrow a tire, creating a “hot wheels” look, can have the beads fail very readily.
For a greater understanding of these issues, visit
www.tirerack.com
I wonder if low profile tires lose pressure more quickly, since there’s a lower volume of air.
Also, it seems there will be less of a visual clue of a low tire.
Mandatory TPMS won’t save every case.
They might lose pressure more slowly, since there’s less sidewall for the air to permeate.
First, no, the volume of air is the same between low profile and high profile tires of similar load carrying capacity (the way the OEM’s would size a tire) The width is wider, so the net is no difference.
Second, air leakage through the tire is so small, it doesn’t matter how much surface area there is. The significant leakage is between the tire and the wheel in the rim flange area. Usually this leakage is small enough to ignore, but sometimes it’s not. 1 or 2 psi a month is considered normal. That’s why it’s important to check tire pressures regularly.
Racers will tell you that the largest diameter rim you need is just large enough to clear your brakes. Front brakes have been getting larger and larger, probably because they do offer resistance to brake fade and higher braking performance. This is critical as more cars rely on their brakes to provide stability and traction control. However, some cars have rims that are larger than necessary; going from a 16" to 17" option wheel is not accompanied with larger brakes. These larger wheels are mostly for aesthetics.
Going with a thinner (low aspect, say 45 series and lower) sidewall does have some performance benefit; you have less flimsy, floppy tire and more stiff metal rim. This can improve a car’s steering response if you compare two wheels with the same overall diameter (the diameter of the rim + tire). There is a point of diminishing returns, however, as metal weighs more than rubber, and big heavy rims will negatively affect handling. Seeing options for Dodge Challengers with 20" rims makes me think we may have gone past that point.
Going with less tire sidewall can increase ride harshness as the tire is a kind of “spring,” but a properly designed suspension can work with this. After all, if the tire is a spring, it has no damper. A car’s suspension is properly damped and engineers like that.
So tl;dr rims have been getting larger and tires “skinnier” for aesthetic reasons, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t benefits to this kind of wheel/tire package. However, I think the majority of the car-buying population (also called “the population”) would prefer the lower costs of a smaller diameter, larger profile tire. You can still buy a Honda Fit with 15", 65 series tires!
When I see drivers slowing to a walking speed and “crabbing” across railroad crossing and speed bumps it is obvious that their car is more fashion statement than practical transportation.
It should also be pointed out that cars are getting heavier and heavier, which means that brake rotors are getting larger and larger as well. On many mid-size or better cars and CUV/SUVS, you have to get 17 inch wheels or bigger just to clear the brake hardware. My paretns have 2010 Highlander with the standard 17 inch wheels. The front brake rotors fill almost the entire wheel. 16 inch wheels, let alone 15 inch wheels simpy would not be an option. When the wheels get bigger lower profile tires are used to keep the overall diameter reasonable.